1,000's of babies-what to feed? (brine shrimp)

clownfish4me · 09-26-2007, 04:01 AM

well its been less than 24 hours since i started a batch of San Francisco bay brand brine shrimp. i fed my tank, pipe fish and a few corals i knew would like to eat a gut full. my problem is this, i have 1,000's more and wonder what to feed something so tiny? will dt's work? at least thats all i can think of other than maybe some frozen Cyclopes? as this is all i have at the moment that may work. i wish i could get a culture of live phyto to try and grow my own for the tank. isn't dt's the same as phyto? could i use it to start a batch? if so any suggestions? would growing dt's be the same as the way rob shows phyto being grown in his podcast? i guess i got a little off topic,lol i just would like to keep the bs alive for future feedings and to grow them out a little. i know they mature fast, and wonder if there were a way or something i can get to feed them to increase there nutritional value to my pipes and other tank inhabitants that snack on them as well. by the way both my pipe fish are hovering about 12 inches off of the sand bed steadily plucking baby bs out of the water column! before they just cruised the sand bed and rock work. its cool seeing them change there hunting routine....

**Amphibious** · 09-26-2007, 07:36 AM

I think DTs would work as a food for BS. Will your pipes eat the frozen Cyclopes?

clownfish4me · 09-26-2007, 05:41 PM

no i have tried on several occasions but they see it and watch it float on by, i dont really know how i would train them to go for it especially since i house them in a 90gal tank. maybe if i had them in a smaller container they would be more inclined to gobble up frozen foods. ?

**Amphibious** · 09-26-2007, 06:05 PM

Pipes are notoriously finicky about food and I think getting them unto frozen Cyclopes would take major effort. It might be easier in a smaller container but you don't want to be moving them around. Stick with the BS. There are other live foods available. Trouble is finding the LFS that will order them.

Dick

Mr. Tang · 09-26-2007, 06:30 PM

so can you culture DT's???? Can you half your bottle and grow more with it since its "a live"????

clownfish4me · 09-26-2007, 06:57 PM

Quote:

so can you culture DT's???? Can you half your bottle and grow more with it since its "a live"????

i am still wondering myself. if anyone has a answer or know were to direct me to find the answer it would be appreciated!!!!

**CarmieJo** · 09-26-2007, 11:12 PM

I seem to remember feeding BS yeast when I used to raise them. I think I read somewhere that you can't use DT's to grow a phyto culture (although I haven't tried) because it has many different kinds of algae in it and they won't grow properly all mixed together. You can buy starter cultures here AlgaGen - A system to culture microalgae very efficiently and effectively. and they are a TR sponsor. You can also ask questions in their forum, http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/algagen/ Erik always seems happy to help.